FDA Protecting Pet Food, Not Protecting Pets

Two pet food brands had consumer complaints filed with FDA. One pet food had one single complaint, the pet fully recovered. The other had a reported 400 complaints including 140 pet deaths. Which one do you think the FDA investigated and forced to recall? FDA: using their power to intimidate a pet food or using their power to protect a pet food. FDA: not protecting pets.

Question. Of the following actual pet food complaints received by FDA, which one do you think the FDA investigated and tested? Only one was, so choose only one that you believe FDA investigated and tested. Also, with pet food complaint #1 below – two pets ate the same food, for only two days. One pet got sick, the other pet “did not experience any symptoms”. The sick pet fully recovered.

Loss of appetite, disoriented, partial seizure

Seizures, vomiting, unsteady gait

Vomiting, lethargy, diarrhea, fever, loss of appetite

Hemorrhaging from rectum, pet death

Seizures, gastrointestinal distress, pet death

So which one do you think the FDA investigated, tested the pet food, and a recall followed?

The answer is #1. Numbers 2 through 5 were not investigated, not tested, and no recall occurred.

Another Question. Which one of the adverse event pet food complaints do you think is a small manufacturer? Which four of the adverse event pet food complaints is from one of the largest pet food brands in the U.S.?

Adverse event number 1 was for Primal Pet Food – a small manufacturer. Adverse events numbers 2 through 5 were Purina Beneful Pet Food – one of the largest manufacturers of pet food in the U.S.

In March of 2015, I filed two Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with FDA.

FOIA #1 asked for all consumer complaints received by FDA during the past year (3/18/2014 through 3/24/2015) regarding Beneful Dog Food. FDA provided that information promptly; less than one month later.

As you can see, the FDA provided me with 13 consumer complaints during a 2 year period; it appeared to be more than what I asked for. Emphasis ‘it appeared to be more’. At about the same time of my request the FDA told CBS News Denver (March 9, 2015) the agency had received “about 400 complaints about Beneful dog food over the past four years. In these adverse event reports, there are 480 reports of dogs getting sick, and just more than 140 deaths.”

Strange. The FDA stated to me that from 3/18/2013 – 3/24/2015 the agency received just 13 consumer complaints including 3 deaths regarding Beneful. But the agency told CBS News that from March 2011 through March 2015 the agency received 480 consumer complaints with more than 140 dogs deaths. Why would the FDA give two different inquiries 2 different answers?

The second thing I asked FDA for in FOIA #1 was the test results from the agency’s investigation of Beneful consumer complaints. In an email 3/19/15, questioning FDA regarding consumer complaints of Beneful, the agency told me “we have tested Beneful”. But, when you look at what the FDA provided me…

When you look closely at the ‘testing’ that FDA performed on Beneful, you’ll see the agency tested the food for Salmonella and it was in no way related to “480 consumer complaints with more than 140 dogs deaths” – this was FDA random testing of pet food.

As it turns out, the FDA has not lifted a finger to investigate hundreds of pet illness and more than 140 dog deaths related to Beneful Dog Food. Concerning complaints from consumers – seizures, vomiting, unsteady gait, lethargy, diarrhea, fever, loss of appetite, gastrointestinal distress and pet death (and this is just what the FDA released to me)…but the agency ONLY randomly tested the dog food for Salmonella.

Opposite of FDA’s approach with Beneful is…

FOIA #2 asked for the single consumer complaint received by FDA relating to Primal Pet Food. FDA did not provide this information promptly. It took the FDA a lengthy 14 months to provide this one document (received 5/31/16).

Two things. One: the complaint states “Thiamine deficiency” resulted in the pet consuming the pet food for ONLY 2 days. Two: the complaint states “There is another pet in the household which consumed same foods however did not experience any symptoms.”

The FDA used taxpayer monies to investigate a small manufacturer based on a complaint where 2 pets ate the identical food, one got sick and the other didn’t. But FDA somehow decided NOT to use taxpayer money to investigate a pet food with “480 consumer complaints with more than 140 dogs deaths”.

One of the largest manufacturers of pet food in the US – Purina, no investigation. A very small manufacturer – FDA performs a full investigation.

Blatant selective enforcement.

How? How do they sleep at night? How can the FDA continue to ‘do as they wish’ including ignoring enforcement of federal law, bullying small pet food manufacturers and allowing Big Pet Food to do as they please? How many more pets will die?

Is anyone in this country overseeing the incredibly faulty pet food regulatory system at the FDA? (No – no one is.)

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Comment23

It is NOT just pet food! I’m not disparaging the importance of safe, wholesome food for pets. I’m saying that this is the result of our economic system, in which profit trumps all other values. People, it’s good to tell these stories, collect this data, make our collective outrage known to the powers. But it is not going to change anything until the entire economic system (globally) and the values it rests on is effectively challenged and changed. Until then, make your pet’s food yourselves! Don’t feed the beast!

The FDA’s criminality is the same across the board, and Congress is no better. I just finished writing my Congressman re FDA vaping regulations. Here’s the text:

“The recently released FDA vaping regulations are a perfect example of why we need the
“Write the Laws Act” (WTLA – S1575). You are allowing the FDA to wipe out the vaping industry, in spite of the fact that most medical professionals see benefits to vaping. Vaping helps people to stop smoking, or to never even start.

“FDA regulations will require vaping companies to run every product they create through something called a Premarket Tobacco Application Process (PMTA). This bureaucratic nonsense will cost $1 million per product. This will destroy countless small businesses while allowing Big Tobacco to take over the vaping market.

“The FDA is a cronyistic, cartel-creating machine. It’s politically-incorrect to point out this fact, but the FDA does tremendous damage to America’s health. The WTLA would throw a wrench in this machine, and I want to see you sponsor this bill.”

I will say that the FDA is only protecting dry kibble pet food. They are ALL OVER the raw frozen pet food brands, and they do crazy things like take samples and let them sit before they test and/or the chain of custody reports or a mile long with no accountability. The varying degree of how they handle the pet food industry is just plain crazy and doesn’t make any sense. Sad!

Hm. 13 consumer complaints 2 pages. 1 consumer complaint 4 pages. That alone should tell you something. Bad as the FDA is, I worry that if they continue to be so blatant, that they will eventually be disbanded at the behest of the corporations they are protecting and not be replaced by anything.

Am I missing something? Not being a veterinarian, is it even possible that a pet can get a thiamine deficiency in two days? And, to have two pets who ate the same food and one did not experience any symptoms?
As to length of time to onset of symptoms, according to the petmd website, “The induction stage generally develops within 1 week after animals begin eating a diet SEVERELY deficient in thiamine.”
“Diagnosing thiamine deficiency in a dog or cat is not as straightforward as you might think. Several different tests are available but none are diagnostic in all cases.”

I could not find on the pdf link to the raw food complaint, (that Susan provided), that says that the food was tested and what they found. It just says, “Samples should be tested for thiamine…”.

As an afterthought: “.. thiamine losses can be as great as 57% in dry dog food and 34% in dry cat food after 18 months of storage.”

What’s clear is that even though there’s a “Freedom of Information Act” (the legislation) somebody forgot to include in the Policy that there shall be no tampering with the document itself. That must be why it takes the request so long to be fulfilled. Imagine the backlog of material waiting for creative writers to “clear” for release.

People, you’d better believe that after the November 2016 election, the candidate beholding to the Establishment (that’s code for Corporate America) will put a stranglehold on any governmental agency that was ever, even in the slightest, tempted to serve the public! If you think it’s bad now, just wait.

FDA knows where the pet food problems are, they have told us that they will not recognize the problems because they violate their own regulations which they choose not to enforce. Purina and other manufactures hide behind FDA claiming that they meet all FDA requirements, this is absurd when FDA dose not enforce their own regulations. Purina is selling adulterated products in violation of US regulations, they have sickened or killed thousands of dogs, they are fully aware of of the deficiencies in there Quality Assurance and product safety practices but will not engage in any discussion that could improve hess practices. Until we have manufactures that truly have the health of our pets as a priority and federal agencies that are willing and able to enforce existing regulations we will have pet foods that violate our laws and lead to illnesses and death of our pets.

The hope for the health and safety of our pets is when the PFI becomes self-regulating. But it won’t happen until it’s used as a competitive edge in the marketplace. Only the Industry knows how to blow the whistle on one another. BB tried, but unfortunately were co-offenders. But at least they started a discussion about “by-products.” Most people probably never even thought about the term!

Publicity is required no matter how it happens. Like Wysong’s false advertising claim. This is how a Consumer can begin to connect the dots. First, what’s in a bag isn’t the best for a dog. Second, being misled with fake pictures. Some folks will always treats pets like animals. But BB promoted the idea of feeding pets like family, and some Consumers will pay more to do so.

Two things have to happen. The Industry has to be caught cheating. And within the Industry, Companies have to call-out the offenders! Then use that distinction as a marketing advantage!!!

Some movements in this Country took decades. Discouraging for us. But Susan has accumulated a library (and record) of FDA and PFI wrong doing. It might take the younger generation (with a shifting view of politics and the establishment) to see the light. Until then, never stop the discussion, publicity, sharing links, and criticizing the perception of corporately owned businesses!

I find it odd that only Beneful was mentioned in this newsletter. What about all the Blue Buffalo/ Blue Wilderness products that have sickened and killed hundreds of dogs and cats since 2009? What about the truth in labeling laws in regards to Blue Buffalo who has acknowledged in court documents that it has been putting corn, wheat and by-product meal in its dry dog food and dry cat food since their company’s inception– yes, even in its grain-free products. Has anyone examined, or even noticed, that the NEW Blue Buffalo packaging does not have printed “Made in America” anywhere. The only address on the Blue Buffalo products is their corporate address in CT. I read these newsletters every week and find them a great wealth of information. It would be of great public interest if the authors of this newsletter could to bring their readers an update what the FDA is doing about all the Blue Buffalo “Not Made in America Bags O’ Crap” being produced and sold to the unsuspecting consumer.

I would have to file a Freedom of Information Act request with FDA regarding Blue Buffalo consumer complaints – which would take anywhere from 1 to 14 months to never for FDA to provide, and even then it might not be accurate information (even though accurate information is required by law with FOIA). But…I can give you a pretty accurate guess what FDA is doing about Blue Buffalo. Nothing. They are doing absolutely nothing about it. Just like with Beneful/Purina.

Yes, Susan I think you are right. Two years ago I reported Blue Buffalo’s Fish and Sweet Potato to my state’s Department of Agriculture. The man was very understanding; but, explained their hands are tied at only having financial resources to investigate issues involving pesticides or salmonella in dog and cat foods. Last week, there was a recall on Blue Buffalo’s Life Protection Fish and Sweet Potato. Finally, after two years. Geez, give me a break. Keep doing great things with your work with “Truth About Pet Food.” This reader truly appreciates it!

This makess me so mad. I have always said DO NOT MESS WITH OUR KIDS OR OUR PETS, now it is the FDA that we have to watch. It is sad, we cannot get anything from China, now it is America we have to watch, we can’t go by labels of contents because they lie.
I know that what we eat isn’t good for us because of all the chemicals and bad feed. I believe that is why we get cancer, my last dog died of cancer and she ate beneful. This is so disturbing. I will not go by any Purina product. I will slander and sue if something happens to my dog now. Why do we have the FDA if they are not protecting what we purchase and consume?

I breed Miniature Schnauzers, and this exact thing happened two years ago with Diamond’s Kirkland Dog food sold by Costco. There were over 134 consumer complaints in one month of dogs getting sick and or dying. The dogs just stopped eating the food. Those people who tried to mask the food with yogurt or cottage cheese…their dogs died. When they autopsied the dogs, the found that the stomach lining looked like the dog had been burned. That two to four month period for the first time in our 15 year history of breeding we had females miscarry, pups born with birth defects, one or two pup litters, and females that didn’t get pregnant at all. Many of my owners called with similar experiences. When I called Costco and Diamond, I got no response, and Diamond emphatically told me there was nothing wrong with the dog food. This is what started me on my quest to become better informed about dog food. I have since learned that we should have complained to the FDA…but from what I’m reading….it sounds like that would not have helped either. I so appreciate everything that Susan is trying to do, the information she has provided to help all of us be better informed about dog FEED, and to help us make better choices for our pets.

That’s a very good point to raise. Owners go to the trouble of reporting to the FDA. In fact they’re are being highly encouraged to do so! And it’s NOT easy while experiencing an illness or death. Yet, from the results of the FOIA examples provided, the report and stats have been distorted. And in some cases, they outright lied, as Susan caught them doing.

I wonder if the documents were intentionally altered because of who had requested them?

Once again, dispicable & ILLEGAL activities from the FDA! This & other regulatory agencies are a mockery! Although I have to give the USDA a little credit, for at least being vocal about agreeing that the FDA is violating it’s own laws! If anyone believes the gov’t agencies are really th ru ieurecr raw consumer, they are delirious! They are there to protect big corporations, end of story!